Launching Experiment to Demonstrate Visual Merchandising Can Raise the Store Visit Rate at Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport TOKYO-BAY
—Using AI Cameras and Other Digital Technology in Creating Shopping Centers that Better Communicate Stores’ Appeal to Customers—

October 14, 2022
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.

Tokyo, Japan, October 14, 2022 – Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd., a leading global real estate company headquartered in Tokyo, in cooperation with NTT DATA Corporation (NTT DATA) and TSI HOLDINGS CO., LTD. (TSI HOLDINGS), announced today that it will start a demonstration experiment from October 15, 2022 aimed at employing AI and other digital technology to make shops within shopping centers more appealing to visitors so that they will want to stop in.

This demonstration experiment will be conducted at nano・universe LaLaport TOKYO-BAY (TSI HOLDINGS) in Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport TOKYO-BAY (located in Funabashi, Chiba, hereinafter “LaLaport TOKYO-BAY”) where AI cameras will be installed and other digital technology utilized to obtain data that will be analyzed to verify visual merchandising (VMD) that sparks the interest of customers and increases the store visit rate.

For stores in shopping centers, the layout and appearance of their facades and entrances are one important factor for capturing the interest of visiting customers. In this demonstration experiment, Mitsui Fudosan will install AI cameras and infrared sensors at the store, and measure the actual response of customers to various combinations of VMD elements such as displays, mannequins, and digital signage to verify which pattern elicits the best response from customers. It will use this to design stores that facilitate new discoveries by better conveying their appeal to customers that pass by. This is the first time in Japan (according to our survey)* that a developer is joining forces with a tenant store in a shopping center that it developed and operates to optimize the store’s VMD using AI and other digital technology.

Going forward, Mitsui Fudosan will incorporate the knowledge gained from this demonstration experiment as it continues to advance an array of initiatives, while cooperating with tenant stores, to bring new shapes to shopping centers based on its “Growing Together” concept for retail facilities not just at LaLaport TOKYO-BAY but at all the shopping centers it operates throughout Japan.

※Based on Mitsui Fudosan’s independent survey (as of October 14, 2022) of Class 1 regular members (developers) of the Japan Council of Shopping Centers

nano・universe LaLaport TOKYO-BAY

Example of AI camera installation

[ Demonstration Experiment Overview ]

This demonstration experiment will entail installing AI cameras and infrared sensors at the store, preparing several patterns of VMD such as displays, mannequins, and digital signage, and examining customers’ reactions to each of them to verify how VMD can be used to communicate the store’s appeal to more customers.

1. Install AI cameras and infrared sensors in stores
2. Prepare VMD content
   Prepare several patterns of content comprising VMD such as displays, mannequins, and digital signage Example: Images displayed on digital signage, outfits to put on mannequins
3. Measure customers’ responses to each VMD pattern
   Gauge customer reactions from their actual line of sight and behavior based on data acquired from the AI cameras and infrared sensors
   Example: Acquire customer location information using infrared sensors, and compare factors such as the duration of visit and number of customers entering the store for each VMD pattern
4. Analyze the measurement results and make improvements based on the outcome
   Wrap up effective elements and key points for getting a good response from customers from VMD patterns that elicited good responses

Depiction of the demonstration experiment

Experiment Period (Planned)

・Saturday, October 15 to Monday, November 28, 2022

Experiment Location

・nano・universe LaLaport TOKYO-BAY in Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport TOKYO-BAY

About the Handling of Camera Image Data

This demonstration experiment will use camera images solely for estimating customer characteristics such as age and gender, and grasping their line of sight, reactions, and so forth. The image data captured will be rendered into a data format that can only be read by a computer, and automatically destroyed immediately after it is analyzed. Mitsui Fudosan, NTT DATA and TSI HOLDINGS, which are the companies participating in this demonstration experiment, can only check the aggregated numerical data, and will not under any circumstances directly check the image data captured.

About the “Mitsui Fudosan 9BOX Infection Control Measure Standards”

The Mitsui Fudosan Group has so far carried out thorough measures against COVID-19 according to each facility. However, the Group considered the necessity for easily understood infection prevention measures based on medical and engineering knowledge so that its facilities could be used with peace of mind even if a new variant were to spread in the future, and formulated the “Mitsui Fudosan 9BOX Infection Control Measure Standards” to be shared across the Group. The Group has developed diverse facilities such as office buildings, retail properties, hotels, resorts, logistics centers, and homes. By presenting measures that are easy to share not only within the Group but with all of society, it hopes to help solve society-wide issues.
Mitsui Fudosan will continue working to achieve a sustainable society through safe and secure neighborhood creation.

Mitsui Fudosan Group’s Contribution to SDGs

https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/esg_csr/
The Mitsui Fudosan Group aims for a society that enriches both people and the planet under the principles of coexist in harmony with society, link diverse values and achieve a sustainable society, and advances business with an awareness of the environment (E), society (S) and governance (G), thus promoting ESG management. By further accelerating its ESG management, the Group will realize Society 5.0, which the Japanese government has been advocating, and contribute significantly to achieving the SDGs. Additionally, the Group formulated the following Group guidelines related to “Realize a Decarbonized Society” and “Diversity & Inclusion Promotion” in November 2021. The Mitsui Fudosan Group will continue to work toward solving social issues through neighborhood creation.

References:
Group Action Plan to Realize a Decarbonized Society
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/news/2021/1124/
Diversity & Inclusion Promotion Declaration and Initiative Policy
https://www.mitsuifudosan.co.jp/english/corporate/news/2021/1129_02/

* The initiatives covered in this press release are contributing to two of the UN’s SDGs